mp3 codecs' prices ?

[WilLoW :--)]

I had a discussion recently with a friend who told me his default mp3 codecs provided by windows were able to encode up to 256Kb/s.

I told him he was wrong, that the default mp3 codecs could go up to 56Kb/s only.
Then I told him unless he used Lame mp3, either he had some warez mp3 codec, or he had had to pay to get them. He answered that he got these codecs freely but can't remember where.

I know that these codecs can be found in DivX 3, or that the radium mp3 codecs do that too, but are these products legal ?
In other words : do some free mp3 codec exist that replace the default mp3 codec in windows' registry ?

thanks

[Tab.]

Not likely. Even the paid Fraunhofer codecs max out at 320, not 256. On the other hand, there are probably a bunch of obscure mp3 codecs, one of which he could have wound up with some way or another.
But as far as I know, the only mp3 acm codec that comes with Windows is the basic Fraunhofer one.

[AbsoluteDestiny]

The divx 3 one is a hacked frauenhoffer codec. Use lame